Ex-Senate Majority Leader, Senator Muhammed Ndume (APC, Borno South), has said he was fully aware of seven senators elected on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that have concluded arrangements to dump the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Speaking with newsmen yesterday, Ndume, who noted that PDP was dead and a taboo in Nigeria, said following strong political maneuvering and discussions still on-going, information reaching him showed that at least seven of the PDP senators would defect to APC soon. Ndume noted that the defection of some of the APC senators to the PDP had consolidated the ruling party.
He said: “The defection of our colleagues made us to consolidate ourselves. Before we were scattered, we had some of us that are following Saraki and those that are following Saraki neck deep have been posted to PDP by Saraki.
“Now, we have senators who Saraki was thinking he had in his pocket, not knowing they were following him maybe for personal reasons or the like, but when he said we are leaving the party, they said no we are APC and we are still standing with our party. “Now we know that we have a confirmed simple majority that we would be able to do whatever we want to do in that Senate.
If it is going to be voting, we can write people’s name and even say 52 senators are of APC who are in support of whatever Mr President wants. “Of course, two senators that are even in APGA are in support, working with the APC and, of course, two seats that are vacant and elections are to be done on August 11, we are very confident that the seats belong to APC by God’s grace. So, we would have a comfortable majority.”
Also speaking on the failed attempt to remove Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, following the siege on their residence by the Police, personnel of Department of State Services, DSS, and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Senator Ndume said there was nothing like planned coup to remove anybody.
But in a swift reaction, PDP senators said it was blatant lie that their members were planning to leave the party for APC. According to them, it is not possible and it will not be true that PDP senators will leave the comfort zone they are at the moment to a sinking ship. According to Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, (PDP, Taraba South), “I have no idea of defection from our caucus.”
Similarly, Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Samuel Anyanwu (PDP, Imo West), said: “It is not true, APC is a sinking ship.” On his part, Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo South), said Ndume was in the best position to know the PDP senators who want to defect to APC.
‘He said: ‘However, I doubt this very much in the face of present happenings in the APC. Some governors in the states and party leaders at the centre have shown so much intolerance and lack of understanding of our democratic practice.”
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